Alpine splendour and refined living come together at the five-star Castel Fragsburg high in the South Tyrolean mountains. On the cliff side overlooking the unspoilt Dolomite mountains and the vineyard-filled Merano Valley, this former 17th-century hunting lodge hasn’t lost any of its aristocratic majesty.

Upon arrival, Castel Fragsburg’s staff welcomes you to a beautifully hand-carved wooden reception that leads to a library and rooms dressed with Empire crystal chandeliers, fine English fabrics, tapestries and artfully placed paintings. No two guest rooms or suites are alike and contain unique features such as a hand-carved four poster dressed in lace, an antique Biedermeier chaise longue, Buffalo leather furniture and a panoramic bathtub. However, each one has a beautiful balcony or terrace.

The Castel’s delicious food is famous for local specialities with a Mediterranean twist (somehow food eaten at 700 metres in mountain air tastes better!). And the Castellum Natura spa is gaining notoriety as the first alchemist spa in the world where only handmade “elixirs” are used in its treatments. A vast “enchanted garden” includes a rose garden that conceals the Sanctuarium where yoga, meditation and treatments take place. Come the evening, head for the glassed veranda and test your vertigo as you enjoy a glass of wine produced from the vineyards below.